


Not In That Way

by Paynolove91



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-15 05:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3435392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paynolove91/pseuds/Paynolove91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam has been in love with Zayn for as long as he could remember. But he would never tell him. He knew Zayn didn't feel the same, no matter how many people tried to convince him otherwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not In That Way

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another oneshot I've written thanks to Sam Smith and his absolutely wonderful music. Not In That Way is a more melancholy song, with a not so happy note, but I've spun it because I'm a romantic, and I don't want them to not end up together at the end. I hope you all like it, and I am finally back in a writing mood, so expect to see more of these popping up. Probably all based off Sam Smith's music. Don't hate me if you don't like him. Also, don't judge the ending. I suck at them.

For as long as he could remember, Liam had never met anyone like Zayn. Zayn truly didn't care what people thought of him, and he was never afraid to be himself. Liam was constantly awed by the other man and Louis and Niall had often called him on it. They were consistently trying to tell him that he simply needed to talk to Zayn. Louis would always be trying to convince him, "You never know, man. This may not be all one sided." And Niall wasn't any better "How can you be so damn dense about this, but so confident everywhere else?" Liam didn't have the heart to tell Niall that more often than not, he was faking his confidence. It's not hard to make everyone think that you were confident, even if you weren't. So he continued moping crazy in love with Zayn, but unwilling to mention it to him. He didn't need to. No matter what Niall and Louis said, he knew what Zayn would say to him. "Of course I love you. Just not in that way." He didn't need to hear the words that would crush him. Much easier to just leave it alone and not ruin a wonderful friendship. He knew that the rest of the boys were getting annoyed with him, but he started to notice Harry and Zayn whispering to each other a lot more than they used to. Louis would try to get stuff out of Harry, but he would just shake his head and call Zayn an idiot. So they went along acting like everything was ok. Three tours and four albums later, and he still hadn't worked up the nerve to say anything to Zayn. Niall had given up, but Louis just got more annoying as the time went on. Harry had even started chiming in.

 

Liam finally got rid of them on a day off. Zayn showed up at his hotel room and fell onto the bed. 'C'mon Zayn, you aren't really going to spend your day off in bed, are you?" He says, and Zayn turns his head to look at him. "Why not? You got something better to do?" Liam clears his throat so he doesn't say something he will regret and just laughs. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. We are going out. Sightseeing. And you aren't allowed to say no." Zayn groans but Liam just shakes his head. "If you wanted someone who would let you lay around in bed all day, you should have gone to Harry. You all know damn well I don't lounge around on days off." Zayn grumbles again, but gets up. "Fine! Damn you're pushy." Liam smiles at him, causing Zayn to just shake his head and smile back. "Ok. But you're picking where we're going. Not me." Liam rolls his eyes, walking into the bathroom to get dressed. Once he was ready, he pulls on a snapback, and him and Zayn head out. They have no choice but to take security with them, since they had been mobbed before and now their management team wouldn't let them go anywhere without it. It was snowing outside, and freezing which made Zayn's complaints go up in volume, but Liam just ignored him, and they went around and saw most of the town. He was able to rent a cabin for them to go snowboarding, which Zayn actually enjoyed, so he counted it as a win. He realized very quickly that he was not as good at it as Zayn was and Zayn was quick to take advantage. When it got dark out, they decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. As they were getting ready to head back, the snow picked up- and they found themselves snowed in; and separated from their security team.

 

Zayn turns to look around them, noticing their cabin a little ways away from them- so they head in that direction. Once there, Zayn looks at Liam, but before he can say anything, Liam is laughing. "Guess next time we have a day off, you'll go somewhere else and just sleep instead of letting me drag you out sightseeing." He jokes, while Zayn tries not to laugh, but eventually caves. "It's not so bad. I mean, it's freezing, we are stranded in a city we barely know- in some random person's cabin." He lifts a shoulder with a smirk. "Still could definitely be worse." Liam looks over at him. "How could this be worse?" He asks, and Zayn's smirk widens. "Could be with Niall." Liam's jaw dropped before he burst out laughing again. "That's mean." Zayn lifts a shoulder. "But true. Who knows how long we'll be here, and you know he'd be complaining about being bored and hungry within like ten minutes." He says, pinning Liam with a look daring him to argue. Liam stays still before nodding. "Yeah, ok. Fair point." He turns around, sighing when he realized they were well and truly stuck. "We are going to be here forever." He groans, spinning when Zayn starts laughing. "This isn't funny, Zayn. You hate the cold, even more than I do." Zayn nods, but then lifts a shoulder. "While this is true, you happen to get hilarious when you panic." He walks up, shaking his head. "Calm down. It's not the end of the world, we're just snowed in. It'll melt." Liam sighs, rolling his shoulders back. "I know. I just hate this. I don't like not knowing anything." Zayn laughs again.

 

"Look, the people you rented this place from said that it was stocked, right? So Let's just cook some food and try to get you to calm down." He pulls off his jacket, walking over to the kitchen. "You know the security team will call management, and they are going to do everything they can to get us out of here as fast as possible. So we probably won't even be here that long." Liam just looks at him, clearly not believing him. "Ok, we'll pretend I believe anything you just said." He jokes, pulling off his own jacket before walking around and checking out the cabin. "Thank you can cook though, I'll get the fire going, cause I have a feeling we are going to need one." Zayn laughs from the kitchen, where Liam can hear him moving around pots and pans and pulling who knows what from the cupboards. He knows that Louis and Niall would be thrilled about Liam and Zayn finding themselves in this position, but he wasn't going to give them pleasure of knowing. He pauses, before snorting quietly. He knows that they probably know. He isn't stupid, and management knows how close the five of them are. They probably told them what had happened to Liam and Zayn. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and turns it one, snorting again when as soon as it's powered up, texts and calls from both Louis and Niall pour in. Louis' texts were suggestive, while Niall's were supportive and encouraging. He was still looking down at his phone when Zayn walked in. "Hey, lets have no phones. I can see that yours is blowing up. Let's call the guys and let them know we're ok, but beyond that, I'm not up for dealing with management calling us every ten seconds." Liam nods, sending off a few quick texts while Zayn calls Harry. After a bunch of reassurance and quite a few insults from Zayn, he was hanging up. Liam powers down his phone, slipping it back into his pocket and turning to get the fire going.

 

Zayn turned and went back to the kitchen while Liam sat there very confused as to what the hell was going on with the two of them. He had spent so long pining and longing, trying to move on but failing both times- while Zayn had been happy with his love life for as long as he could remember. He wanted, oh so badly to say something and try to see if he could possibly make their friendship more, but he couldn't help butt worry, scared that if he didn't feel the same way, it would be disastrous. And while he couldn't imagine being with anyone else at this point, One Direction was the most important thing to him, and he wasn't ready to risk throwing that away just yet. Maybe that made him a coward, like Louis often said, but he preferred to think of it as a way to protect the thing he loved most. Niall would often point out that the band had to end someday. None of them wanted it too, but they were all well aware that eventually that day would be there, and they would have to accept it. And as backwards as it sounded, Liam rationalized the choice by saying if he said something, and Zayn didn't feel the same, when the band finally ended, he would lose him. If he kept his mouth shut and the band ended, he would be able to keep his friend. Usually when he said that, one of the two boys would hit him upside the head and call him an idiot. He was unaware that he was studying the fire until Zayn snapped his fingers in front of his face. He started, and turned to look at the other, who looked both amused and worried. "You ok? You're studying that fire like it holds the answers to life's problems."

 

Liam smiles softly, lifting a shoulder. "Maybe it does." He turns to look at the kitchen. "You done cooking?" He asks, and Zayn nods. "Hold tight, and I'll bring it in here." Once they had their food in front of them, they dig in- Liam realized he was starving, and Zayn's cooking was always phenomenal. They sat in silence for a little while after they had finished eating before Zayn finally turned to look at Liam. "Ok, spill. You're never this quiet this long, and you're starting to stress me out." Liam cleared his throat. "It's really nothing, just some stuff that's been bothering me lately." Zayn just stares at him. "You gonna make me drag it out of you?" He asks, and Liam groans internally. Zayn had always been good at getting him to open up. "I have a friend, and I may have developed feelings for said friend, but I'm worried at jeopardizing the friendship. I have people telling me that I need to at least try to take the risk, because life is short, and all that good stuff, but I can't help but worry that if I say something, the other person wouldn't feel the same way, and I don't know if I could handle losing the friend." Zayn got quiet, considering the information the that had been presented. He lifts a shoulder. "Well, I do agree that life is short, and you can't really afford to not be true to you." Liam hums, seriously listening to his advice before he heard the chuckling. He turns to look back at Zayn, who is shaking his head. He shoves him playfully. "You laughing at me and my pain, Malik?" He questions, but Zayn shakes his head. "No, I'm actually laughing at me." He lifts a shoulder looking back over at Liam. He starts laughing again when he sees Liam's expression, and Liam realizes he looks like a confused puppy. "It's just that when it's someone else's issue, I can offer quality advice. But when it's myself, I can't even look at the problems." Liam tilts his head, confusion still running through him.

 

Zayn clears his throat. “I’ve sort of found myself in the same position, and I’ve had people telling me to grow a pair almost everyday since I’ve come to them with this problem.” He chuckles, but Liam can’t help the flash of disappointment. He didn’t want Zayn to be into somebody else- but he cleared his throat and put on a face. “Well, maybe you should.” He smirks playfully. “Life is short, and you can't really afford to not be true to you.” He parrots, which makes Zayn laugh, before sobering up. “Yeah, but it turns out I’m a wimp about this stuff.” Liam snorts. “You are the bravest person I know, and anyone would be stupid to turn you down.” Zayn hums, lifting a shoulder. “There haven’t been any signs that he is interested in me.” Liam’s eyes snapped to his at that statement. “He?” It comes out strained, and Zayn picks up on the tone. “Yeah, I didn’t think it would matter if it was a guy or a girl.” Liam caught the undertone of hurt that was laced through Zayn’s words. He immediately starts shaking his head. “No no no, I’m not-” He huffs a breath. “I would never judge you, Zayn. I don’t care what the gender of the person you care for is. I just never thought you were into men. You’ve never showed any interest in them before.” Zayn lifts a shoulder again. “It’s not men. It’s just him. He is the only guy I’ve looked at like that, and I know it’s because he’s become so important to me lately.” Liam nods, perfectly understanding what the other male is going through. He falls silent, as does the other. They sit there for a few moments, before Zayn huffs a breath and turns to look at Liam fully. “If I tell you, do you promise not to get mad or judge me?” He asks, and Liam’s brows furrow again. He didn’t know why Zayn was being so closed off, but he turns to face him as well. “Of course I won’t.” He promises, knowing that the words were the truth. Hearing that Zayn cared for someone else would kill him, but he would never show it to him.

Zayn clears his throat, and tilts his head. “Who do you like?” He asks, and the question is so unexpected, Liam’s brain goes silent for a few moments, and he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t want to lie to Zayn, but he had managed to keep this from him for a long time, and if he spilled now, he could ruin everything. “No one that I think you’d know.” He says, and grows worried as the smirk grows on the other man’s lips. “You’ve always sucked at lying to me, Liam.” He says, which makes Liam wrinkle his nose. “Have not. Besides, what makes you think I’m lying to you.” Zayn tilts his head. “The split second of panic that I saw in your eyes before you answered.” He states, knowing that he was upping the panic lancing through Liam. “I don’t- I’m not comfortable telling you.” Liam says softly looking down at the ground, and Zayn’s smirk grows into a smile. “So Louis was right?” He asks, and watches as the other man’s head snaps up and his eyes widen. Yup. Louis had been right. Liam schools his face, and clears his throat. “You know Louis is a prankster. I wouldn’t believe him.” Zayn nods like he’s considering it, but he was still smiling. He waited it out, knowing Liam well enough to know that his curiosity would eat at him until he had to ask. “What-” He clears his throat when his voice comes out scratchy. “What did Louis say, exactly?” He manages, and Zayn tilts his head, deciding to go for honesty. “He said you were head over ass for me, and I should grow the set you lacked and make a move.” He watched the other closely, and the color drained from his face as he swallowed hard. Zayn nods before leaning in and curling his hand around the back of his neck to pull him in. He stops right before their lips touch. “I’m crazy about you too, Liam. But if you don’t want this, and if Louis was wrong- tell me and I’ll stop.” He says, and Liam finally shakes himself out of the shock that had taken hold of him to wet his lower lip. His voice is low when he finally manages to make it work. “If you stop, I may have to kill you.” He says.

Zayn laughs and closes the rest of the distance, kissing the other male heatedly as he pulls him even closer to his chest. He couldn’t imagine Harry had been right all those times he had told Zayn to just man up. Everyone had seen Liam’s feelings for him way before he did, and it frustrated him that they had needed a damn snow storm to shake them loose. He focused in on Liam when he moaned into Zayn’s mouth, and pushed even closer. He held off as long as possible, but he eventually had to pull back to breath, and he couldn’t help the pleased smile that graced his mouth when Liam chased his lips. They were both breathing hard, and Liam looked shell shocked. Hell, he  _was_  shell shocked. Years of wanting, and he finally had it. He licked his lips and cleared his throat. “Damn.” He mutters, and Zayn laughs yet again. “I love you, Liam.” Liam’s smile is blinding. “I love you too Zayn.” They kissed again, and Liam couldn't believe his luck. He finally had Zayn in his arms, and he couldn't believe that he actually wanted him. He hadn't told him that the love he felt wasn't the same, and Liam was sure he couldn't get any happier. 

Louis’ voice was the loudest the next day when they got back to the hotel and they were holding hands. “About damn time, you two were killing me!” Zayn and Liam just looked at each other and smiled, knowing their friend was happy for them, and excited to see what the world held in store for them.

 


End file.
